The Middle 7 X 15
by 27elliee
Summary: I felt Ezra had promised Aria that him & Nicole were over, but still went to see her because her dad asked him too. Leaving his fiance in the dark. Again. There was no “I’m so sorry” moment.


"I don't want you to come back, I want you to stay."

"You're putting me in the middle here."

"I did not put you in the middle. You put yourself there when the other day she told you that she wants you to move on and be happy, but now her parents, not Nicole her parents, want you there. What message would that send to her you turning up? Her world has turned upside down, Ezra. She's having to deal with you not being in her life as well as all of these other changes, what she needs is stability. She's told you she wants you to be happy, and given you her blessing to move on, but now you're going back there because her parents are what, incapable of speaking to a doctor themselves. How would you turning up help her?" Aria reasons.

"Please, when I get back."

"You're not listening to me at all are you? As much as I feel for her, if you walk out of that door to see her once again I won't be here when you get back. I'm sick of this. You have NO idea what I've done for us, what I'm doing for us and what's the point? I've completely betrayed my friends, I'm working for AD for us. To protect you. And for what? So you can keep leaving me standing here feeling like I'm nothing to you? The other day you said that that part of your life is over, that she wants you to move on and be happy."

"Aria, I will be back in two days."

"I won't be here. How long have you and I spent fighting to be together? We're supposedly engaged but that's a joke. What do you want from me Ezra? Do you expect me to be stood here waiting for you with open arms after you leave me again? Are you genuinely stood there expecting me to be happy that you're leaving me again? Because all I'm going to be doing is waiting for the day her parents say, they want you there permanently and you just end up leaving me forever. No."

"I'm trying to be able to look at myself in the mirror, I'm the reason she was taken. If I had been with her she wouldn't have gone through all of that." Ezra whispers tears in his eyes.

"And the dumbest argument award goes too.." Aria snarks slowly clapping.

"Aria this isn't a joke." Aria sighs, closing her eyes for a moment before speaking again.

"I'm not joking. Nicole has given you her blessing to move on, how is you turning up going to help her? This isn't about you anymore, it's about her. She's the one who went through hell, your need for forgiveness takes a long second place to her getting healthy. She told you herself to move on and be happy. We've been engaged over a month, when was the last time we had sex? You kissed me properly, told me you loved me without it being part of an apology or a promise you then broke? What part of the way you've been acting says you give a fuck about our relationship? You talk about being able to look at yourself in the mirror with regards to Nicole, but how will you be able to do that when I walk out that door without my ring on because honestly I'm this close to leaving for good. How are you going to be able to look in the mirror if you throw away us, because ever since I was sixteen no matter how much shit we've been through you're the only person I've ever imagined I would marry, have children with. But that picture is fading, I don't think I can marry someone who I don't know if they're going to be running off to their ex all the time. Look at yourself in the mirror when you're alone."

"Aria..."

"So, I'm going to go upstairs and have a shower because I need to wash today off considering I've betrayed my friends for us and now I'm just repeating myself. You go catch your flight or stay, but if you go ... I can't promise I'll be here when you return."

Five minutes later he walks back through the door, this is his home this is where he belongs, to make things right with the love of his life. He can hear her crying, throwing his bag and coat to the floor kicking his shoes off, he runs up the stairs taking them two at a time nearly tripping as he goes.

"Aria. I was trying to make things right, so I can look at myself in the mirror but if I left I knew I wouldn't be able to. You were right, this isn't about me." He whispers as he enters the bedroom, she's sobbing on their bed her tiny frame jerking with every hitch of her throat.

"It's you, it's always been you. I shouldn't have left like that. You're the love of my life, you always has been. You should be the person I put first. I haven't been, and I am so sorry." He says from the edge of the bed watching her cry praying for the inspiration on how to make this all okay.

"I can't do this, Ezra, I'm one tiny person." She cries. "I can't be with you anymore."

"No. Don't say that." He pleads throwing himself on the bed, he wraps his arms around her shoulder, the other around her waist and pulls her into his chest.

"I don't feel loved by you anymore Ezra, and I'm scared that I'll stop loving you." He lays on his back with her on top of him.

"Don't say that. You were right, completely right. We've fought so hard to get to this point and we can't throw it away. I can't throw it away. Please. Don't stop loving me. Don't give up on me." He cries, his tears soaking her hair. She pulls away from him into a sitting position, he takes her lead and they get comfortable sat cross legged on the bed opposite one another.

"You don't know what I've done for us lately, or what I've been feeling and you need to, I can't handle everything Ezra. I'm not strong enough. I need you. I need you here with me, but I also don't want you to resent me for making you close off that part of your life." Aria says not looking at him focusing instead on her hands.

"I called Nicole's dad when I left, I told him that I need to put my my future with you first and that's what needs to take priority over everything else. They're not going to contact me anymore." Ezra takes her hands in his.

"The way we met may have been a lie, but from the moment I fell in love with you I never stopped loving you. I never will." Ezra says meeting Arias eyes.

"I know that feeling." She replies smiling. Ezra opens his arms letting Aria settle in his lap he holds her close, they're going to be okay.

"I'm sorry I forced you to have to feel that way, to say those things, I'm sorry." He mumbles.

"Sometimes you need a push. I love you, I haven't stopped I was just scared that I would." She replies closing her eyes and snuggling into the embrace of her fiancé.

"I'm working for AD." She confesses breaking their moment of contentment.

"How did that happen?"

"I told you about the game we have to play." She begins. "I don't know how AD ended up with it but they have a file. If I lost my turn they would turn it in, I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't risk losing the game."

"So you made a deal with the devil."

"Yes."

"What is the file?"

"Before I tell you, I need to you to know that when I wrote it I was furious. I wanted to hurt you."

"When did you write it?"

"After I found out about your book, about Ali, before I tell you this, I want you to know I forgave you for the book years ago. I'm completely over it."

"Really?"

"You met this beautiful intriguing girl, dated her, actually liked her then find out she'd lied about her age and the night you break up she disappears. Who wouldn't want to find out what really happened? What writer wouldn't want to write about it. It makes complete sense." Aria says much to the surprise of Ezra. Pushing his wonder aside, he gets back to the point.

"What's this file?" He asks.

"I wanted to hurt you, so I wrote a report about you to the police. Basically saying you were a predator." She confesses. "I never actually filed it, I couldn't. I wanted to hurt you but I couldn't do that to you."

"And now AD has that file."

"Yes, and even though it's fictional..."

"If someone hands it to the police it's grounds for arrest. I could be arrested."

"Yes."

"Aria, you've done all this to protect me all while I've been the worst fiancé ever."

"You're not mad about the file?"

"No. I deserved it. Aria, I started this relationship by lying to you. To be honest, I expected you to do something like that. I would have deserved it."

"No." She implores stroking his cheek. "You didn't then, and you don't now. This is us, we're going to work through this. I'm scared, really fucking scared." She cries kissing his cheek.

"I've lost you so many times, Ezra I can't lose you again. I don't think I can make it. I'm betraying my friends and I know I could lose them, what scares me is I know the fallout from that will be okay if I have you."

"If the worst happens I'll bribe them with free coffee." Ezra suggests

"Deal." Aria laughs, the melodic sound brings hope to Ezra. They'll be okay.

"Have your shower, I'll make us some pasta." Ezra suggests realising they both need some time to calm down before they begin talking again.

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Aria, so much."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yes, Ezra. A shower solved all of my problems." Ezra can see the tension in her shoulders, he carefully takes one of the towels from her head and uses it to tenderly dry her hair.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to show the love of my life how much I cherish her, I've been horrible to her and want to try and make it up, even if it takes the rest of our lives. I'm also taking you out on a date tomorrow night, we haven't been on a real date since you were in high school and that's another thing I need to rectify."

Five minutes later Aria felt like she was melting as Ezra massaged her back.

"I'm going to call Nicole, I was going to while you were in the shower but thought it best to wait, I want you to hear me tell her it'll be easiest for all involved if we don't talk anymore."

"Ezra, my problem is, because we got engaged so fast and then you were gone with her we've barely had any time. One minute we're eloping next minute I'm being abandoned. It hurts, I miss you and the not communicating"

"Adding into the fact that you're betraying your friends for me equals one upset Aria."

"That's putting it lightly. Go call Nicole."

"Right now?"

"Yes, deal with this tonight and tomorrow we don't have to think about it."

"Nicole wants to speak to you." Ezra hesitantly offers the phone to Aria.

"I'm so sorry." Nicole says, sounding less broken than the last time Aria spoke to her.

"Nicole, you don't have to apologise for MY fiancé acting like a dick."

"I'm still sorry you're in this situation."

"It's not me and Ezra without issues." Aria smirks remembering their tumultuous relationship.

"He never stopped loving you, I think that's what's made it so easy for me to tell him to move on. You're the one who holds his heart, I just looked after it for a while." Nicole smiled, she always knew she was the replacement. "I'm sorry it got bruised in the process."

"Don't worry about that, you focus on getting healthy."

"I will, I'm meeting a new doctor tomorrow."

"Good luck. Do you want to talk to Ezra now?"

"Yeah, I want to say goodbye. I won't be contacting him again."

"Okay."

"Before you go..."

"Yeah?"

"I loved the book."

"I'm glad. I'll give Ezra the phone now he's about to wear a hole in the carpet. I hope you get a new happy normal." Aria finishes handing the phone back to Ezra.

"Yeah, yeah. That sounds like a good idea, let your parents know that ... yeah. GoodBye."

"How do you feel?"

"Good, that part of my life is done now."

"Ezra, it's okay to feel sad."

"I don't, I feel relieved. My future is you." He smiles over at his fiancé.

"You will always be the best thing that ever happened to me." She replies.

"I stopped writing that book the day we went to the bar with Hardy when we were in my apartment and you asked me what it felt like when we're together. I realised I'd never felt as comfortable with anyone as I did with you."

"Really?"

"I realised I was in love with you then, that you were the one. You're still the one."

"You're still the one."

"Yeah."

"The song."

"What song?"

"Shania Twain, let me play it." Moments later the first beautiful notes begin to play throughout the room as the couple hold each other knowing they will be together forever, and have a stronger relationship from now on.

When I first saw you, I saw love

And the first time you touched me, I felt love

And after all this time

You're still the one I love, mmm, yeah

Looks like we made it

Look how far we've come my baby

We mighta took the long way

We knew we'd get there someday

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"

But just look at us holding on

We're still together still going strong

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss good night

Ain't nothin' better

We beat the odds together

I'm glad we didn't listen

Look at what we would be missin'

They said, I bet they'll never make it

But just look at us holding on

We're still together, still going strong

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss goodnight

You're still the one

Yeah (you're still the one)

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss goodnight

I'm so glad we made it

Look how far we've come my baby

"Our first dance song."

"Definitely."

"I love you, future wife."

"I love you, future husband." The couple fall asleep holding each other tightly knowing that whatever demons they face in the days to come, they will slay them together.


End file.
